Electronics

Some advanced electronic devices only function at extremely cold temperatures. Now engineers at NIST have developed a tiny cryogenic thermometer that uses a new mechanism to keep an eye on these sensitive instruments without taking up much room.

An international team of scientists has developed a technology that could help avoid vast amounts of food wastage, in the form of an electronic nose that relies on color-changing barcodes to track the freshness of different meats.

Researchers at Stanford and Samsung have developed a proof-of-concept ultra-high-resolution OLED display. “Metaphotonic” tech could improve a screen's color purity and potentially boost the pixel density to an astounding 10,000 pixels per inch (ppi).

Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a tiny new sensor that can be carried around on a small drone or even the back of an insect – and then dropped on demand to track the environment for years at a time.

Silicon has been the material of choice for electronics for decades, but it’s beginning to bump up against efficiency limits. Now engineers at UC Berkeley have created metallic graphene nanoribbons, which can make wires for all-carbon electronics.

Researchers have developed a kind of electronic “invisible ink” that can alert users to unauthorized tampering with a device. When the chip is exposed to light it will erase information printed on it, making it clear that someone’s opened the box.

Scientists have developed what they claim is the smallest particle sensor in the world, designed specifically to detect harmful pollutants and offer a highly localized picture of air quality by being integrated into wearables and mobile devices.

Although TV professionals commonly use wireless microphones when shooting on location, decent-quality units are generally too pricey for use by regular folks using smartphones. The creators of the Hooke Lav mic, however, have set out to change that.

Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed a new type of wearable electric generator, which harvests energy from the wind as you walk. The team says it’s low cost and efficient enough to power small sensors and LEDs.

By putting a new spin on decades-old thermoelectric technology, scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have developed a tiny microscopic cooling device they describe as the "world’s smallest refrigerator."

A typical sheet of paper or cardboard is neither waterproof, interactive or able to harvest energy, but an innovative new printing technology developed at Purdue University can make it all of the above.

Earlier in the year, LG Display showed its vision for the aircraft cabin of the future, which included transparent OLED partitions. Now the company has installed the technology in subway train windows.